Cinnamon Rolls with Vanilla Bean Glaze (Dairy Free & Gluten Free!)

Prep time: 1 hour 50 mins (I skipped 45 minutes of the waiting periods steps and it turned out good!)
Cook time: 25 mins
Total time: 2 hours 15 mins
Servings: Makes 12 rolls

Recipe found through a facebook Gluten + dairy free group, originally posted on Ambitious Kitchen. All of my revisions and comments are noted in italics and purple font color.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup unsweetened almond milk, warmed to 110 degrees F
1/3 cup granulated sugar*
2 1/4 teaspoons dry active yeast (use the fast rising kind)
2 eggs
1/4 cup melted coconut oil*
4 cups Pamela's Gluten Free Bread Mix (about 1 small package)
1 2/3 cups Pamela's Gluten Free All-Purpose Flour - Artisan Blend, plus more for dusting (oops, I used gluten free corn flower and hey, the recipe still turned out good!)
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup coconut oil, softened but not melted*
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

For the glaze:
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1-2 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk, depending on how thick you like your glaze
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
seeds from one vanilla bean
(this is the glaze the recipe called for. I'm not a big store bought almond milk fan, so next time I would like to try a glaze with perhaps soy milk or another alternative)


INSTRUCTIONS

1. Add milk, sugar and yeast to the large bowl of an electric mixer. It's important to make sure the milk isn't too hot or it will kill the yeast. On the other hand, if the milk is too cool, the yeast will not activate. Let the yeast with the milk for 5 minutes, do not touch or stir. You will know if the yeast activated properly if by the end of 5 minutes, it has started to bubble or foam a bit.
2. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together both flours and salt; set aside.
3. Once the milk is a bit foamy, add in the eggs, coconut oil and half of the flour mixture; stir until just combined. Then add in the rest of the flour, 1/2 cup at a time, and stir again until just combined. Place dough hook on your mixer and run on medium-low speed for about 8 minutes. Alternatively you can knead the dough by hand for about 10 minutes. The dough should be elastic like but not sticky. Grease a large bowl with oil or cooking spray. Add dough and turn over, making sure to coat it all with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap and a towel, then place in a warm place to rise for a little over 1 hour or until doubled in size. If you want bigger rolls, let it rise for up to 2 hours! (I got away with just keeping this in the oven for 45 minutes)
   Tip: I usually turn my oven to 200 degrees then immediately turn it off to create a little heat. After that I place my bowl of dough in the oven to help it rise. Works every single time!
4. Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray or coconut oil. Once the dough is doubled in size, punch it down! Sprinkle a little gluten free flour on your rolling surface, then roll out the dough into a 15x9 inch rectangle. Spread 1/3 cup of coconut oil all over dough (you'll want it to be easily spreadable so it's okay if it's a little melted). Mix the cinnamon and brown sugar together then sprinkle all over dough. Use your hands to rub sugar/cinnamon mixture into the dough a little bit. Beginning at the larger end, tightly roll up the dough and pinch the edges together to seal. Use a serrated knife or unflavored dental floss to cut the dough into roughly 2 inch sections so that you have 12 rolls total; place rolls in pan. 
5. Cover with plastic wrap and place on top of oven to rise again for 30 minutes. (I skipped this step and went straight to baking and it still turned out good)
6. Once you are ready to bake the rolls, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake rolls in oven for 20-25 minutes or until a tiny bit golden brown on the edges. Mine were perfect around 23 minutes. Remember you don't want to over bake them or they'll turn rock solid. Once rolls are finished baking, set aside to cool for 5-10 minutes while you make the glaze.
7. In a small bowl whisk together powdered sugar, almond milk, vanilla and vanilla bean. Add more almond milk if you want a thinner glaze. Drizzle over warm cinnamon rolls and serve immediately! 

NOTES
If you are not dairy free, you can use regular milk and butter in this recipe, if you so choose.

What can I use besides coconut oil?
If you aren’t dairy free, you can use butter. If you still want to make these dairy free, you can use a vegan buttery spread.

Can I sub something for the regular sugar and/or brown sugar?
Yes! You can use maple sugar or coconut sugar, if you prefer a refined sugar free treat. The filling might not necessary taste the same, but I’m sure they will still be delicious!

Can I make these vegan?
The only thing that is preventing these from being vegan is the egg. Unfortunately I had a reader report that using a flax egg didn’t turn out too well for them.

Can I make these the night before and bake them in the morning?
Yes! To make these into overnight cinnamon rolls, do not let dough rise the second time, instead place rolls in pan (after the first rising), cover with plastic wrap, then immediately place in the fridge. The dough will rise overnight again. The next morning take rolls out of the fridge and let them sit at room temperature or in a warm spot for 30-45 minutes, then bake as directed. Ta-da! (But note - these also taste GREAT up to 2 days after so there's no need to make it fresh the day of if that's what you're aiming for, it tastes just as good when reheating a day or two later).

Healthy Fruit Cobbler

INGREDIENT
3 Tbls butter
2 cups flour (or can substitute partially with whole oats)
2/3 cup sugar
3 tsp baking powder
2 cups milk
4 cups berries (frozen works just fine!)
You'll need a 9x9 cake pan. I love this one that is non-stick and has a lid to keep it fresh all week in your fridge.

DIRECTIONS
Melt the butter in a cake pan (9 x 9) - I turn on oven and place the butter inside and let it melt.

Mix next four ingredients together and pour in pan after butter is evenly distributed on the bottom.

sprinkle berries on top .

Bake 350 for about 40-45 minutes.

Just as a side note. I created my own mixture of flour. I use a combination (equal part of each) of ground oatmeal, spelt flour, almond meal and rye flour. I also don't use much sugar despite the recipe...

Nutella Strawberry French Toast Roll-Ups

What's super easy and was rated "really amazing"' by guests (adults and kids alike)? Nutella Strawberry French Toast Roll-Ups. 

Less than 15 minutes

Ingredients:







Directions:

• Cut edges off of bread
• Roll bread flat
• Spread bread with nutella
• Make 1 fine row of cut up strawberries on each nutella bread
• Roll up the bread
• Immerse each bread roll up in egg
• Cook on stove top until brown on each side
• Serve warm with powdered sugar sprinkled on top

Support this blog and buy from the Amazon ingredient links above. Thank you BuzzFeed Food for this awesome recipe. 

Carmelitas

OH MY GOODNESS
these are so good

I hope our new neighbors like the treat.

INGREDIENTS
32 caramel squares, unwrapped
½ cup heavy cream
¾ cup butter, melted
¾ cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips I found that to be too much chocolate...

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat your oven to 350. Grease an 8×8 pan or you can line it with aluminum foil or parchment paper for easier removal. The caramel gets very sticky. (This can also be made in a 9×13, by doubling the ingredients)
2. In a mixing bowl, combine melted butter and brown sugar. Add flour, oats, and baking soda. Mix until combined well. 
3. Divide the cookie mixture in half and pat half of the mix into the bottom of the 8×8 pan. Bake for 10 minutes and remove from oven.
4. While the crust is baking, combine the caramels and heavy cream in a saucepan over medium heat; stir until completely melted and smooth. The caramels can also be melted in the microwave, just stir after every 30 seconds being careful not to let it burn. The microwave version worked very well when using my ceramic bowl. Very easy to clean. Also the heavy cream made the caramel stay perfectly gooey for days.
5. Remove pan from the oven, immediately sprinkle chocolate chips over the crust. Pour warm melted caramel mixture over the chocolate chips and crumble remaining cookie dough on top.
6. Return to oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until the edges are lightly brown.
7. Once removed from the oven, allow them to completely cool and the caramel to set up. The caramel is like molten caramel right out of the oven and you want to let it cool. You can speed up the cooling process by putting it in the fridge if needed.
8. Gluten Free Version: Use gluten free flour.
9. Use certified gluten free oatmeal, can be found at Trader Joe's

TRICKS & TIPS

1. This was so easy to make using my Cuisinart. I have both an 11-cup and the 2-cup mini prep. 

2. Can be made Gluten Free when using Gluten Free Flour and Gluten Free Oatmeal

Thank you This Grandma Is Fun for the recipe. 

Chocolate Spread

Yummy chocolate spread that brings me back to childhood.

INGREDIENTS:
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 & 2/3 margarine
3 tablespoon cocoa
1/2 teaspoon coffee
drop of vanilla

DIRECTIONS:
Put all in a food processor. Once mixed, refrigerate.

Coconut + M&M Magic Bars

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 25 mins, Cool Off time: at least an hour, Total time: 1 hour 35 mins
Recipe type: Dessert
Serves: 12 - 16

Ingredients
1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs (or even 2 cups!)
½ cup butter or margarine, softened
2 cups shredded coconut (recipe can be made without coconuts)
1 package semi sweet chocolate chips (12 ounces)
4 packages plain M&M’s (1.69oz x 4)
2 cups salted peanuts
1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 ounces)

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Line a 9x13 glass pan with parchment paper. Also works well with an 8x8 tin container.
3. In glass bowl, mix together graham cracker crumbs and margarine.
4. Press evenly into pan.
5. Top with coconut, chocolate chips, M&M’s, and peanuts.
6. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over bars. Top it off with some more M&Ms for looks.
7. Bake for 25 minutes.
8. Cool at least an hour so it's not too liquidy, then cut into squares.

Recipe by Simply Shellie

15 Minute Apple Dumplings Dessert

Recipe type: Dessert
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 40 mins
Total time: 55 mins
Serves: 16




Ingredients
2 (8 ounce) cans crescent rolls
1.5 sticks butter
1½ cups brown sugar
1 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup 7 Up (or other lemon soda)
2 apples (Golden Delicious or Granny Smith)


Instructions
1. Butter a 13 x 9 inch baking dish.
2. Preheat the oven at 350 F.
3. Peel and core apples, then cut each apple into 8 slices
4. Open up the two crescent roll packages. They will each have 8 triangle shaped flat crescent rolls. Roll each apple slice in a crescent roll and place in a buttered dish.
5. Melt butter, stir in sugar, vanilla and cinnamon, and when it’s thickened, remove from heat and pour over the dumplings.
6. Pour the soda in the middle and along the edges of a pan (not over the rolls).
7. Bake for 35­ to 45 minutes, or until they become golden brown.
8. Serve warm.

Recipe is a slightly modified from OMG Chocolate Desserts version. 

Red Velvet (Beet) Brownies (Gluten-Free, Vegan)

Receipe from Mind Body Green: Skip the red food dye and add some detox-friendly beets to your brownies! A healthy take on the classic dessert, with a rich and creamy cashew frosting.

Ingredients
1 cup raw beets, chopped (approximately 1 large beet, peeled & chopped)
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/3 cup agave
2 Tbsp. vegan chocolate chips
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. raw cacao
2 Tbsp. ground flaxseed
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 cup gluten-free rolled oats
2 Tbsp. coconut flour

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a square (8x8) pan with parchment paper and set aside.

In a food processor fitted with a metal blade, pulse beets until very finely chopped.

In a small saucepan, add coconut oil, agave, vegan chocolate chips and vanilla. Melt over low heat.

Add to beet mixture and purée until smooth.

Add the remaining ingredients to the food processor and purée until fully combined.

Spread evenly in the prepared pan and bake for 10-12 minutes.

Cool completely.

Top with the creamy cashew frosting (recipe below) and cut into squares. Store in the refrigerator or freezer.

Creamy Cashew Frosting Ingredients
1 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup boiling water
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 tsp. agave 1 tsp. coconut oil

Directions
Add all ingredients to a high-speed blender and purée until smooth and creamy. Pour into a bowl and chill before frosting the brownies.

Notes
I used honey instead of agave.
I don't have a high speed blender, so I used a food processor. Frosting could have turned out smoother if used a blender... Interested in finding a different frosting recipe. 

Peppermint Pretzel White Chocolate Bark

Makes 12 servings * Hands on time 15 minutes * Ready in 25 minutes

INGREDIENTS
1 (16-oz.) package vanilla candy coating, chopped (Log House CandiQuik Vanilla Candy Coatingrks great)
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
Parchment paper
1 cup coarsely chopped pretzel sticks
2/3 cup coarsely chopped peppermint candy canes

PREPARATION
1. Microwave candy coating in a 1-qt. microwave-safe glass bowl at MEDIUM (50% power) 1 minute; stir. Microwave until melted and smooth, stirring at 30-second intervals. Stir in peppermint extract.
Note - My GE Microwave requires you to change the temperature to medium each time you microwave. Last time I tried doing this without lowering my temperature, it burnt the chocolate so this is an important step to take. It took me 1 minute, plus an additional three 30 second intervals for the chocolate to fully melt.)
2. Spread half of melted candy coating about 1/8 inch thick in a parchment paper-lined jelly-roll pan.You can use a soft rubber spatula to smooth out the coating on the pan. Sprinkle 1/2 cup chopped pretzels and 1/3 cup chopped candy canes over melted candy coating, and press into coating. Repeat procedure with remaining ingredients on another parchment paper-lined jelly-roll pan. Chill 5 minutes or until cool and firm. Break into pieces.

Recipe from Southern Living's DECEMBER 2013 issue

Here are a couple more cool Log House CandiQuick recipes that are ready in 30 minutes or less: Heart Candies (or any other shape cookie cutters you have) and St Patty's Pretzel Rods.

You can support this blog by purchasing from the links in the ingredients section.

Patriotic Peanut Butter Cookies (Frosted)

Prep time: 20 mins  *  Cook time: 20 mins  *  Total time: 40 mins  *  Serves: 24

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup butter (room temperature)
• 1½ cups dark brown sugar
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1½ cup chunky peanut butter (room temperature)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2½ cups all-purpose flour
• 4 cups white chocolate chips
• 6 teaspoons vegetable shortening
• red food coloring
• blue food coloring

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
• In a stand mixer, combine the softened butter with the dark brown sugar and granulated sugar until well mixed.
• Add the eggs and continue mixing until the eggs are completely incorporated.
• Now pour the vanilla extract into the cookie dough and mixer for 30 seconds to combine.
• Add the chunky peanut butter to the bowl and mix for 2 minutes, or until the peanut butter is completely mixed into the dough.
• Now add the salt, baking soda, and flour and mix slowly for 2-3 minutes. The dough should be very sticky.
• Scoop the dough onto un-greased baking sheets (2-3 tablespoons per cookie). Lightly press the cookie down to form a small disk (do not use a fork!).
• Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the edges start to brown. Remove from the oven and let sit for a minute before moving to a cooling rack. Once the cookies are cool to the touch, move them to the refrigerator or freezer to cool completely.
• While the cookies are cooling, separate the white chocolate chips into 3 bowls and add 2 teaspoons of shortening to each bowl. Microwave for 60-90 seconds to melt the chocolate. Add red coloring to one of the bowls and blue to another.
• Once the cookies are cooled, place the cookies upside-down into the plain white melted chocolate to coat the top of the cookie. Place back in the refrigerator or freezer so that the chocolate can harden.
• To add the red and blue stripes, use a spoon to spread the red and blue chocolate over ⅓ of the cookie. Again, place back in the refrigerator or freezer to harden. Store in the refrigerator until serving.
• Note - I found it hard to apply colored frosting on top of the white frosting. As an alternative, I used a zip lock bag to pipe the colored frosting through.

Recipe from Zack and Cilantro Saga on Cooking & Beer.

Dark Chocolate & Raspberry Banana Bread

Yield: 1 loaf | Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 50 - 60 mins

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup granulated white sugar
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)
• 1/3 cup plain low fat yogurt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup dark chocolate chunks or chips
• 1 cup halved raspberries, tossed in 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9x5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.
3. In a separate large bowl, beat the sugar and butter with an electric mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 1 minute). Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the banana, yogurt, and vanilla; beat until blended. Stir in the flour mixture; just until moist. Don't over-mix. Stir in the chocolate chunks and then gently stir in the raspberries. If you want, you can sprinkle a few additional chocolate chunks and raspberries on the top to make it look pretty.
4. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes in the pan on a wire rack. Remove from pan and cool completely on the wire rack.

COMMENTS:
Source: Thank you Recipe Boy! Below are some comments they made on the recipe:
Since there have been some mixed reviews, we're adding in some tips to help you make this recipe a success (added 9/25/12)

• This recipe turns out perfect for us, so here are the details: We bake at sea level in a greased pyrex pan and we bake on the middle rack in a gas oven.
• Don't use frozen raspberries or freshly washed raspberries (they will add too much moisture).
• If you bake in a dark metal pan or if you are baking at a different altitude or using an electric oven, you may possibly get different results.
• Oven temperatures can vary quite a bit, so if you have an oven thermometer that is helpful to see if yours is recording the right temperature.
• If the top is browning too quickly, cover the top with foil in the middle of baking to prevent it from browning further.

Caramel Apple Muffins

Total time: 1 hr 30 minutes.  Makes 12 muffins.

Cinnamon Topping Ingredients:
1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tablespoons butter

Muffin & Caramel Ingredients:
1 (8-oz.) container sour cream
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups peeled and diced Granny Smith apples (2 cups = 2 apples)
1 (14-oz.) package caramels
3 tablespoons whipping cream
1 cup chopped lightly salted, roasted pecans
Wax paper
Food-safe twigs or craft sticks (if you grow mint in your backyard, twigs are perfect for this recipe)

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 375°. Prepare Cinnamon Topping as directed.
2. Beat sour cream and next 3 ingredients at low speed with an electric mixer 30 seconds or until blended.
3. Stir together flour and next 3 ingredients. Add to sour cream mixture, beating at low speed just until blended. (Do not overmix.) Stir in diced apples. Spoon into a lightly greased 12-cup muffin pan, filling three-fourths full; sprinkle with Cinnamon Topping.
4. Bake at 375° for 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Immediately remove from pans to wire racks; cool completely (about 30 minutes).
5. Microwave caramels and cream in a microwave-safe bowl at HIGH 1 to 2 minutes or until smooth, stirring at 30-second intervals. Let mixture stand, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes or until thick enough to coat muffins.
6. Quickly dip bottom three-fourths of each muffin into caramel mixture; roll bottom half of caramel-coated portion of muffin in chopped pecans, and place muffins, caramel sides up, on lightly greased wax paper. (If caramel mixture begins to harden before you've dipped all the muffins, microwave mixture a few seconds to soften.) Insert food-safe twigs or craft sticks into caramel-covered portions of muffins.

Comments:
Recipe from Southern Living, SEPTEMBER 2012. Find original post here.
Be careful not to burn your fingers on the hot caramel.

Chocolate Crust Cheesecake Minis

Decoration ideas: sprinkle broken pieces of  candy cane,
mini chocolate chips or sugar syrup raspberries

Everything's better in cupcake form. That's why I've set out to try nearly all of Martha Stuarts favorite cupcakes and picked out my favorite one. Original recipe included apricot jam. See below my simplified version without the jam.


Ingredients (yields 18, total time 1 hour)

1 cup crumbled chocolate-wafer cookies (about 18 cookies)
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 ounces (3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
1 pound cream cheese, softened (leave out for 3 hours before hand or microwave prior)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
pinch of salt


Directions
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Mix cookies and 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar in a bowl. Stir in butter. Press 1 tablespoon of mixture in bottom of each cup. Bake until set, about 7 minutes. Let cool in tins on wire racks.

2) Reduce oven temperature to 275 degrees. Beat cream cheese with a mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add remaining 1/2 cup sugar, then vanilla. With mixer running, add eggs slowly, scraping down side of bowl. Add sour cream and salt. make sure to get rid of all lumps so batter is smooth. Pour batter into double muffin cups, filling almost to the tops.

3) Bake until sides are set but centers are wobbly, about 20 minutes. Let cool in tins on wire racks. Wrap tins tightly with plastic only when cooled to room temperature, and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

Mocha-Apple Cake with Browned Butter Frosting

Double Layered

Recipe published in Southern Living's September 2011 issue. Find it here. Hag Samech & Shana Tova! 


Cake Ingredients
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup sugar
1 cup canola oil
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups peeled and diced Granny Smith apples (about 2 lb.)
2 (2.6-oz.) milk chocolate candy bars, chopped
Browned Butter Frosting


Cake Directions

• 1. Preheat oven to 350º. Bake pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan 8 to 10 minutes or until toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through.
• 2. Beat sugar and next 4 ingredients at high speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer 5 minutes. Stir together flour and next 4 ingredients; gradually add flour mixture to sugar mixture, beating at low speed just until blended. Add apples, chocolate, and pecans; beat just until blended. Spoon into 2 greased and floured 9-inch round cake pans.
• 3. Bake at 350º for 28 to 32 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on a wire rack 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire rack, and cool completely (about 1 hour). Spread Browned Butter Frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake.
• Mocha-Apple Bundt Cake: Omit Browned Butter Frosting. Prepare batter as directed; spoon into a greased and floured 12-cup Bundt pan. Bake at 350º for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack, and cool completely (about 2 hours).

Browned Butter Frosting Ingredients
1 cup butter
1 (16-oz.) package powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Frosting Directions
1. Cook butter in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly, 6 to 8 minutes or until butter begins to turn golden brown. Remove pan immediately from heat. Pour butter into a bowl. Cover and chill 1 hour or until butter is cool and begins to solidify.
2. Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy; gradually add powdered sugar alternately with milk, beginning and ending with sugar. Beat at low speed until well blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla.

Comments: The cake batter is very thick and turns out similar to a cookie dough consistency.  Very interesting. Not my favorite cake, but definitely would make it again for the right occasion. Shocking realization that others don't agree - only received 2/5 stars on recipes.com. 

Peach Pie, Anyone?

Recipe and crust design inspired by Southern Living's 07/2011 Issue. View it here.

Ingredients
1 1/3 cups cold butter
4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 to 3/4 cup ice-cold water
8 large fresh, firm, ripe peaches (about 4 lb.)
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
1 large egg, beaten
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar


Preparation (If you are not making homemade crust, skip steps 1-3) 
1. Cut 1 1/3 cups butter into small cubes, and chill 15 minutes. Stir together 4 cups flour and 1 1/2 tsp. salt. Cut butter into flour mixture with a pastry blender until mixture resembles small peas. Gradually stir in 1/2 cup ice water with a fork, stirring until dry ingredients are moistened and dough begins to form a ball and leaves sides of bowl, adding more ice water, 1 Tbsp. at a time, if necessary. Turn dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap; press and shape dough into 2 flat disks. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap, and chill 30 minutes to 24 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 425º. Place 1 dough disk on a lightly floured surface; sprinkle dough lightly with flour. Roll dough to about 1/4-inch thickness. Starting at 1 edge of dough, wrap dough around a rolling pin. Place rolling pin over a 9-inch pie plate, and unroll dough over pie plate. Press dough into pie plate.
3. Roll remaining dough disk to about 1/4-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface.
4. Peel peaches, and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices; cut slices in half. Stir together brown sugar, next 3 ingredients, and remaining 1/4 cup flour in a bowl; add peaches, stirring to coat. Immediately spoon peach mixture into piecrust in pie plate, and dot with 1 1/2 Tbsp. butter. (Do not make mixture ahead or it will become too juicy.)
5. Carefully place remaining piecrust over filling; press edges of crusts together to seal. Cut off excess crust, and reserve. Crimp edges of pie. If desired, reroll excess crust to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut into 3-inch leaves using a knife. Brush top of pie with beaten egg; top with leaves. Brush leaves with egg; sprinkle with 1 1/2 Tbsp. granulated sugar. Cut 4 to 5 slits in top of pie for steam to escape. 6. Freeze pie 15 minutes. Meanwhile, heat a jelly-roll pan in oven 10 minutes. Place pie on hot jelly-roll pan.
7. Bake at 425° on lower oven rack 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375°; bake 40 minutes. Cover loosely with aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning, and bake 25 more minutes or until juices are thick and bubbly (juices will bubble through top). Transfer to a wire rack; cool 2 hours before serving.
Lovely Lattice: For an equally impressive top crust, cut remaining dough disk in Step 3 into 3 (1 1/2-inch-wide) strips and 8 (1/4-inch-wide) strips using a fluted pastry wheel. Proceed as directed through Step 4. In Step 5, replace whole crust with dough strips, making a lattice design. Omit pastry leaves. Brush lattice with beaten egg, and sprinkle with sugar. Omit slits in crust. Proceed as directed in Steps 6 and 7, shielding just the edges with foil.


By Pastry Chef Shae Rehmel, Five & Ten, Athens, Georgia, Southern Living







Comments: Texture and taste is very similar to apple pie... but better.

3-Layer Carrot Cake

It was time for me to bake a layered cake.
I combined two carrot cake recipes into the recipe listed below.
The original recipes can be found on allrecipes.com and foodnetwork.com.

Prep Time: 30 minutes ♦ Cook Time: 1 hour ♦ Idle Time: 1 day ♦ Ready In: 1 day, 1.5 hours

Batter Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
• 2 cups granulated white sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 cups finely grated carrots
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (can substitute with pecans)
•  

• Frosting Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened (= 1/2 stick)
• 12 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 4 cups confectioners' sugar (=1.5 lb)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 
  

Directions

Preheat oven to 305 degrees F.

In a mixing bowl, mix sugar, vegetable oil, and eggs. In another bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Fold dry ingredients into wet mixture and blend well. Fold in grated carrots and chopped nuts until well blended. Distribute batter evenly into 3 (9-inch or 8.5-inch) cake layer pans, which have been generously greased. There will be approximately 1 pound 5 ounces of batter per pan. Place in preheated oven and bake for 50 to 60 minutes. Cool layers in pans, for approximately 1 hour. Store layers in pans, inverted, in closed cupboard to prevent drying. Layers must be a minimum of 1 day old.

To remove layers from baking pan, turn upside down, tap edge of pan on a hard surface. Center a 9-inch cake circle on top of revolving cake stand. Remove paper from bottom of layer cake. Place first layer, bottom side down, at center of cake stand. With a spatula, evenly spread approximately 3 1/2 ounces of frosting on the layer. Center second layer on top of first layer with topside down. Again with a spatula, evenly spread approximately 3 1/2 ounces of frosting on the layer. Center third layer on top of second layer with topside down. Using both hands, press firmly but gently, all layers together to get one firm cake. With spatula, spread remainder of frosting to cover top and sides of cake. Refrigerated until needed. Display on counter or cake stand with a plastic cover.

Filling and Icings:

In a suitable bowl of large mixer, place powdered sugar, cream cheese, vanilla, and butter. Beat at second speed until thoroughly blended. Hold refrigerated and use as needed. Pecans are for cake decorations.

Comments

Why did my cake turn out inverted the second time I made the recipe? Maybe stale baking powder?

Orange Lace Cookies - An Amature Trial

Orange Lace Cookies

makes about 60, even after casualties

Ingredients

1 cup + 2 tablespoons (8 oz) sugar
3/4 cup (3 oz) flour
1/2 cup (4 oz) orange juice
1 stick (4 oz) butter
1 orange zest - I was lazy and simply used orange juice with pulp

Needs

Silpat 11-5/8-by-16-1/2-Inch Nonstick Silicone Baking Mat - I don't have. Used parchment paper instead.
Professional Offset Spatula Set, Ateco - I don't have. Used my hands, shhhh.

Not the right way to do it...

1. Stir together the flour and sugar in a large bowl.
2. Melt the butter. I like to stick it in the microwave in 30-second intervals until it’s liquefied.
3. Add the orange zest to the bowl with the juice…then pour the juice over the flour.
4. Whisk until it’s smooth as a baby’s bottom.
5. Then pour in the butter and whisk until that’s completely incorporated. There’s still stubborn butter pooling at the edges of this bowl. Better get that all incorporated.

This needs to be refrigerated before proceeding. At least 2 hours or overnight. Actually this batter can be kept in your fridge for up to 3 days, as long as it’s wrapped tightly.


6. Now it’s later and we’re ready to bake. First preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Then fill a pastry bag, outfitted with a small plain tip, with batter. (You can also fill a ziplock back, then snip off a bit of the corner.)
7. Pipe nickel-sized rounds on Silpat-lined cookie sheets, spaced 3 inches apart. Yes, space them far apart. You’ll thank me later. And use the flattest sheet pans you’ve got or the batter will slide around. You will have way more batter than sheet pans, so you’ll need to bake them in batches. Or bake some today, and then some tomorrow.
8. Bake for about 10 minutes. Keep a close eye on these. You want them golden orange. If they get into the brown palette, they start to get bitter.

Comments:

Fun crunchy cookies; not worth the work. Also, I thought I was supposed to squeeze them onto the cooking sheet as perfect dots and they would naturally spread out to form a lace shape. Turns out I was wrong, simply squeeze zig zag circle mess and it turns out to be beautiful crunchy lace.

Fun Fruit Marzipan

Ingredients

• 8 ounces almond paste
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 cup corn syrup
• 3 drops any color food coloring

Directions:

Watch cute video of little girl making pumpkin marzipan and learn. Watch here.Okay let's be real and cut out the girl, this is a much faster and self explanatory video on how to make the shapes.

Voilà

Warm Granny Smith Apple Pie

Fresh Apple Pie

+

4-Ingredient Häagen-Dazs Vanilla Bean

Here's How:

★ Recipe Serves 8  ★ Total Prep Time 25 Minutes. Total Bake Time 60 Minutes  ★  Serve Warm With Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop on the Side  ★

Ingredients:
1 box Pillsbury refrigerated pie dough (comes with 2 x 9" inch pie doughs) 

Filling:
from Judy's Perfect Apple Pie recipe. Modified version posted below.

7 cups thinly sliced peeled baking apples (Approx. 7 apples. Recommend using Granny Smith apples. I also added in 1 Pink Lady and 1 McIntosh)
2 tablespoons lemon juice (Approx 1 fresh lemon squeezed)
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 egg yolk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. In bowl 1, place peeled and cut all apples. Add lemon juice.
3. In bowl 2, combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg. Mix and then add to bowl 1. Toss.
4. Place pie dough into 9" inch pie pan. Pour filling into pie pan. Dot with butter on top of filling.
5. Either decoratively cover the pie as I did in picture above, or cover flat pie dough on pie and cut slits in the middle. Seal top and bottom pie crust together and decoratively wave pie edges.
6. Beat egg yolk and water; brush over pastry top.
7. Bake at 425 degrees F for 14 minutes. Reduce hat to 350 degrees F and bake for an additional 40-45 minutes until crust is golden and filling is bubbly.